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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 3 |
| 1878 | 1 |
| 1883 | 1 |
| 1884 | 1 |
| 1885 | 1 |
| 1886 | 1 |
| 1888 | 4 |
| 1889 | 2 |
| 1890 | 1 |
| 1891 | 2 |
| 1892 | 3 |
| 1893 | 2 |
| 1894 | 4 |
| 1895 | 1 |
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| 1909 | 7 |
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| 1916 | 4 |
48 stories matching rubbish
- The Fight Against Tacoma's Rubbish
Health officials and the Pure Food Council declare war on 'old shacks' and vacant-lot dumping ahead of a summer influx of tourists.
- Dry Grass Spark Ignites Fire in Olmsted Addition
A rubbish fire spirals out of control, consuming a shed before the local fire department can bridge the distance from the nearest hydrant.
- Tacoma’s War on Rubbish
The Anti-Compulsory Vaccination society leads a citywide cleanup campaign, deputizing police to hunt down vacant-lot litter.
- A Backyard Tragedy in Ballard
A young girl is severely burned while playing near a rubbish fire during spring cleaning.
- The Great Sewer Scandal (Feb 08, 1894)
City inspectors and laborers trade accusations over whether Seattle’s new sewers are built to last a millennium or are merely 'rubbish.'
- The Seattle Baker Who Stopped a Midnight Inferno
A quick-thinking baker at the Queen City Bakery spotted smoke rising from the Denny Block, narrowly averting a major downtown catastrophe.
- The Decoy in the Rubbish Heap: How Tacoma Residents Outsmarted a Private Detective
When a notorious private eye attempted to frame two young express employees for a phantom theft, their friends staged an elaborate performance to expose his heavy-handed tactics.
- The Street-Sweeping Crackdown of 1889
Local merchants learn the hard way that the city is no longer tolerating trash on the sidewalk as ordinances go into effect.
- The Great Seattle Street-Cleaning Decree
A desperate 1888 city ordinance threatens property owners with fines if they fail to scrub the filth from their sidewalk frontages.
- The Health Crisis at Yakima’s Doorstep
A scathing editorial exposes the city council’s refusal to address the lack of a proper sewer system.
- The Green Pool of Puyallup
A health-hazard stagnant pond in the center of town sparks a call for action.
- The Struggle to Keep Seattle Clean in 1888
As Seattle prepared for a massive influx of tourists for a summer celebration, one citizen publicly shamed the city's leadership for allowing its streets to remain a cluttered, hazardous mess of construction debris.
- A Scathing Call for Civic Pride
The local newspaper editor blasts the City Council for allowing Coulee City to descend into a state of 'innocuous desuetude' marked by neglected sidewalks and wandering livestock.
- Coulee City Targets 'Speed Demons' and Filthy Alleys
A newly empowered City Marshal is tasked with enforcing long-neglected sanitation ordinances and curbing reckless driving through the town's streets.
- The Great Sidewalk Standoff
Tacoma residents vent frustration at contractors who leave streets in ruins during the long-awaited public improvement projects.
- The Stencil Building's Lucky Streak
For the third time in its history, a furnace mishap threatens to destroy the Stencil building at Main and Third.
- The Skeleton in the Nailed-Up Cabin
A grizzly discovery in a lonely Clallam County cabin reveals a forgotten crime.
- Everett's First Annual City Cleanup
After a successful city-wide 'Clean-up' day, local editors urge residents and businesses to maintain pride in their streets year-round.
- The Great Tacoma Spring Cleaning
Mayor Linck threatens arrests as the city scrambles to scrub up before an upcoming exposition.
- The Fire That Never Was: How Seattle’s Insurance Panic Saved the City
When two insurance executives declared Seattle a 'death trap' of combustible trash, they triggered a civic cleanup that lowered premiums and saved countless buildings from the flames that had already destroyed much of the city.
- Sabotage on the Coal Line
A dangerous attempt to derail a coal train near Seattle highlights the intense tensions surrounding the city's burgeoning industrial infrastructure.
- Late-Night Burglary Ends in Foot Chase
A drug store break-in at Commercial Street leads to a wild foot pursuit across downtown alleys.
- The Street-Level Cost of Filth
A local observer decries the sanitary conditions of Seattle's waterfront and argues that private enterprise requires public hygiene.
- Whitman College Triumphs in Interstate Debate
After a hard-fought battle against the University of Oregon, students celebrated the win with bonfires and victory yells.
- City Hall Janitor Crushed in Elevator Tragedy
A routine morning cleanup ended in a gruesome death for an elderly janitor when an elevator started unexpectedly.
Also about this, in other words
- The Garbage Crisis: Seattle’s ‘Primitive’ Streets Demand a Permanent Solution
As the City Council debates the fate of the city's waste, officials warn that makeshift disposal methods are turning neighborhoods into health hazards and driving down property values.